Desert ecosystems are some of the most richly diverse in the world and yet they are one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. Deserts, which account for one-third of the earth’s land mass, ...

(CNN) — Inside a Mojave aster flower, a tiny bee is fast asleep. At night, the pale lavender petals close, providing a safe resting place. In the morning, as birdsong rings out across the desert, the ...

The understudied mycorrhizal fungi are vital to ecosystems and may prove critical to the survival of fragile deserts stressed by climate change. Though invisible on the surface of the desert, ...

The animals are also vulnerable to a range of deadly diseases such as upper respiratory illnesses and the shell disease cutaneous dyskeratosis, which softens their shells. Finally, as climate change ...

The Sonoran Desert is one of the largest deserts in North America. Credit: Unsplash/Jim Witkowski Many Americans might be surprised just how expansive and diverse the Sonoran Desert actually is. The ...

Wildfires are an increasing concern across most of the Southwestern United States and many other parts of the world — but scientists have made an encouraging discovery, with insights about how ...

An indicator of ecological health of Southern California’s desert landscapes may lie in a beetle smaller than your pinky finger. The Casey’s June beetle not only plays a crucial role in the ecosystem ...

Qatar has launched an aggressive campaign to save its rawdas — fragile natural depressions that serve as lifelines for desert ...

Some of the Southwest’s most iconic desert trees are running for their lives in what could be a grim harbinger for more temperate ecosystems across the West. A study in Functional Ecology offers ...

Episodic precipitation pulses are important for driving biological activity in desert ecosystems. The pattern of precipitation, including the size of rain events and the duration of time between ...